House Bill 221 to Yoga

Tuesday I spent over two hours waiting in line at the Idaho State Capitol. As soon as I got to the front of the line to sign-up to testify against House Bill 221 I had to leave for an appointment with a client. I felt a strange mixture of guilt, anger, disbelief and relief. I was mad at myself for not clearing my whole day free, guilty that I would not be able to help, disbelief that I had waited in line so long and then had to just walk away and relief that I would not be talking about painful memories in front of hundreds of people. This mixture had me feeling miserable as I drove to my client’s house. It was to be our first private yoga session and I wondered if I would be able to be clear headed enough to stay present during the session.

I arrived at her house, the door flew open and I was greeted with the most sincere smile and enthusiasm. We spent the next 90 minutes having a blast practicing yoga. Staying in the moment was not a concern from the time I walked in the door. The experience reminded me of the power yoga has for healing. For those 90 minutes my client and I were the only beings in the world. There was no judgment, no votes to be made, no ideals to live up to, and your best would always be good enough.

I am happy to say many of my fellow concerned citizens were able to testify at the Capitol that day. And they made a difference. Thank you to everyone! We may not have gotten everything we wanted, but some huge changes were made. If you would like to read about those changes to House Bill 221, which effects Medicaid cuts, below are some links to some articles (you will also find some good information about the Luna Bill):

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/boise/

http://www.idahoreporter.com/2011/legislators-begin-work-on-medicaid-reduction-bill

http://voices.idahostatesman.com/idahopolitics